Dover man touts free speech, religious rights, academic freedoms

Saturday

Oct 11, 2014 at 9:46 PM

Would the Freshwaters do it over again?Yes.Few people could have imagined John Freshwater, the guy they once sat next to in church or while cheering on the Dover Tornadoes, would find himself at the center of a controversy that dealt with free speech, religious rights and academic freedoms.

Would the Freshwaters do it over again?

Yes.

Few people could have imagined John Freshwater, the guy they once sat next to in church or while cheering on the Dover Tornadoes, would find himself at the center of a controversy that dealt with free speech, religious rights and academic freedoms.

But his story has appeared in newspapers across the country, in magazines and on television.

A one-time missionary serving in China, this Dover native and former Mount Vernon City Schools teacher withstood hate mail and threats after refusing to remove his Bible from his desk, and asking students to think critically about the theory ofevolution.

Despite having his case rejected by the United States Supreme Court last week, Freshwater has set a precedent in the state’s courtrooms and in classrooms across the country.

Public school teachers are now allowed to have Bibles on their desks and the debate about analyzing evolution continues.

“This case speaks to an ongoing debate in America over whether we want schools that will teach young people to think analytically, critically and for themselves, or schools that will merely teach young people to parrot back what they are told,” said John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute, which represented Freshwater before the Ohio Supreme Court.

A TEACHER’S RIGHT?

The 58-year-old Dover man had asked the court to take a position on the First Amendment rights of teachers. His attorney, Rita Dunnaway, asked the high court to consider whether Freshwater’s rights were violated when he was fired for teaching students to “think critically” about evolution and for displaying on his desk religious materials owned by Mount Vernon schools.

Freshwater taught eighth-grade science in the Mount Vernon school district for 22 years. He also served as an adviser for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, a school-sanctioned organization.

In April of 2008, Freshwater was ordered to remove religious paraphernalia used by the Christian athletes association from his classroom, and was later told to remove his Bible from his desk. He also was informed by the principal he had been accused of burning a cross into a child’s arm during a Tesla coil experiment in December 2007.

That was just the beginning.

There were more than 30 allegations lodged against Freshwater. He also was accused of performing an exorcism, making homophobic slurs and indoctrinating students with creationism.

“They did everything they could to make him look like a Christian fanatic,” said Nancy Freshwater, John’s wife.

Freshwater defended himself against each accusation, and called for a public hearing that was refereed by Attorney Lee Shepherd.

Nearly all of the allegations against Freshwater — including the Tesla coil incident — were dismissed. In the first few pages of Shepherd’s report to the Mount Vernon City Schools District, he dismissed the Tesla coil claim stating it was “obvious that speculation and imagination had pushed reality aside.”

Shepherd also stated Freshwater was a successful eighth-grade teacher whose students performed at or above the state requirements and expectations for their grade, and above other eighth-grade science classes at Mount Vernon.

According to Ohio Supreme Court records, 89 percent of Freshwater’s students passed the life science section, which tested their knowledge of evolutionary theory. Freshwater’s students scored higher than those in the other science classrooms, who achieved passage rates of 76 and 67 percent in that section of the Ohio Achievement Test.

However, the public’s opinion in Mount Vernon already had turned against the Freshwaters, and by the time Shepherd’s report was made public, two years had passed.

Despite the findings, Shepherd ruled that Freshwater’s termination should be upheld because he was insubordinate for keeping the Bible and other religious materials that were issued by the school or available in the school library in his classroom. Shepherd also said Freshwater chose to present evidence for and against biological evolution because he had a religious bias.

PRINCIPLES AND THE LAW

Freshwater and his attorney filed an appeal with the Ohio Supreme Court. Freshwater said he felt his First Amendment rights had been violated when he had to remove his Bible.

He couldn’t bring himself to do that. The Bible was given to him as a wedding present from his wife. It also was the same Bible that he took with him to China where he served as a missionary in 1995. Because practicing Christianity was illegal in China, the Freshwaters had to be covert, and so did their new friends. They said they quickly realized it took courage for the Chinese converts to practice their faith.

Afterward, John and Nancy Freshwater said they would never take their religious freedoms for granted.

In November 2013, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled 6 to 1 that a teacher was allowed to keep a Bible in his or her own personal workspace. However, the majority, 4 to 3, ruled that Freshwater’s firing should be upheld because he was insubordinate. The majority sidestepped the question of academic freedom.

In his dissenting opinion, Justice Paul Pfeifer said, “Presenting alternative views on scientific theories as a means of challenging students to think critically is not tantamount to promoting religion in the classroom.

“The school board has not complained about religious statements or displays in classrooms of other teachers, but rather, has targeted this specific teacher (Freshwater) only after he became the subject of a complaint and the board faced a threatened lawsuit.”

MOVING FORWARD

Mount Vernon Schools Superintendent Bill Seder Jr. joined the district in 2013, years after Freshwater was fired. He said he couldn’t speak for the school district’s previous administration.

“From my perspective, it’s been one of those divisive issues, with folks on both sides,” he said Friday.

Seder said the Freshwater case wasn’t discussed on a regular basis, but news concerning the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last week “stirred up those emotions.”

Now that the case is over, Seder said he would like to see the school move forward.

The Freshwaters want to move forward, too.

Over the past seven years, John and Nancy said they saw humanity at its best — and its worst. They sold their home in Mount Vernon to cover legal expenses, they were loathed by people they’d normally sit next to at a football game or chat with in line at the grocery store. But they also found great friendships and generous people who rented their homes to them for free, and even paid for their gasoline.

John Freshwater said he is disappointed the U.S. Supreme Court didn’t choose to review his case, but he wasn’t surprised as there are thousands of submissions. He is grateful that the state Supreme Court ruled that a teacher could keep a Bible on their desk for inspiration. He also believes there will be other cases about academic freedom and evolution.

“I do believe in this case,” Freshwater said. “Without a doubt, there will be more going up to the U.S. Supreme Court.”

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